DriDri: Cream of the crop

189 Portobello Road, W11 2ED

Sunday afternoon. Notting Hill. Portobello Road is heaving with tourists looking for Hugh Grant's house. Locals with trendy just-got-out-of-bed hair, stroll leisurely, couples arm-in-arm. The Electric Cinema cafe is buzzing with a trendier than thou brunch crowd. And next door, a colourful little Italian gelato shop sits empty. A lone waitress stands behind the counter twirling her hair in her fingers. For a place claiming to make the "best gelato in the world" - where is everybody? Sensing my puzzlement, the waitress approached and offered me a free sample of hot chocolate. "It is too cold for people to think gelato," she said in a thick Italian accent. That's why we have started doing cakes and pies," she said pointing to a delectable display of banoffee and cream cheese cupcakes. But I shook my head, no. It was the gelato I'd come for.

The choice was tough. DriDri, which makes all its gelato on the premises everyday with all natural ingredients, had a choice of 16 flavours - ranging from amaretto, custard, licorice and espresso. There were also eight sorbets - pink grapefruit, cherry, lemon, to name a few. They come in cups or cones and range from £1.60 for one or two scoops to £3.80 for three or four. Having a tough time making a decision, the waitress offered me to sample as many as I'd like. In the end, I melted over the pistachio (not bright green, but light brown) and stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate chips). It was the creamiest, tastiest, most delicious gelato I'd tasted outside of Italy. DriDri prides itself on sourcing local ingredients from trusted farmers and growers. There's nothing artificial tasting about it. As far as gelato goes, DriDri really is the cream of the crop.